Obituary for the first human clone

There are no remaining uses for cloning - only abuses - and because these abuses are now possible, they demand proactive legislation nationally and internationally.

We know that certain overseas doctors fully intend to be the first to bring a cloned embryo to birth. They are supported by academics like Melbourne’s Daniel Elsner, who wrote in the prestigious Journal of Medical Ethics in 2006: “People who wish to reproduce by cloning should be permitted to do so, provided there is no reasonable alternative.”

And far worse, we have the sick proposal to farm cloned fetuses for their organs - proposed in the same journal by another Melbourne man, Julian Savulescu, who is the Professor of Practical Ethics at Oxford. In an article entitled “Cloning as a source of transplant tissue” he writes: “It is morally required that we employ cloning to produce embryos or foetuses for the sake of providing cells, tissues or even organs for therapy, followed by abortion of the embryo or foetus.”

These abuses would never happen in Australia, but are sure to be attempted by rogue doctors in less regulated countries. Therefore we need to revisit and empower the United Nations resolution (PDF 104KB) of 2006 which called for a ban on human cloning.

More immediately, South Australia and ACT legislators are about to vote on cloning, and have the chance to reverse the tide on national legislation which has been based on a scientific illusion. They can now, with good conscience and better science, reject a practice which has always been unethical, but is now clearly unnecessary.

Instead, let us all support stem cell science which is both effective and ethical, which gives us hope but does not degrade our humanity.